Strange Layer of Venus Surprisingly Cold
enus may be closer to the sun than Earth, but its typically hellish atmosphere has a surprisingly cold layer that's chillier than any part of our own planet's atmosphere, a new study reveals.
This region may be cool enough for carbon dioxide snow or ice to form, according to new observations from Europe's Venus Express satellite. This is surprising for a planet with normally oven-hot temperatures, scientists say.
"The finding is very new and we still need to think about and understand what the implications will be," Håkan Svedhem, Venus Express project scientist at the European Space Agency, said in a statement today (Oct. 1).
Scientists discovered the cold layer by measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide gas molecules at various altitudes along the dividing line between day and night on Venus (called the terminator). Combing these data with the known atmospheric pressure at each height, the researchers were able to derive the temperatures of various layers of the planet's atmosphere.
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The heat on the surface builds up so high that the entire crust melts in cycles and when it cools again (If you want to call it "cool"
all new valleys and mountains form.
